Golden slivers of sunlight made their way into the Asmodeus's cabin, illuminating the various glass bottles that stood throughout the room, bending and reflecting the light in a way that managed to beckon a slumbering caninu from his sleep.

"Guaaaggh!" Red Savarin, bounty hunter and savior of the world, proceeded to thrash around his bed, getting tangled up in the blankets. "Chocolat! Chocolaaaaaaaaaat!"

"What iiiiiiis iiiiiit?" An annoyed tone from the adjacent room. His adoptive sister, Chocolat, who was the helmsman of the vessel, must have been awake for a few hours by this point. Red sat up and looked out the window. They were no longer on the Davren Isles, that was for sure. Nothing but the vast expanse of clouds below could be seen. Where were they going?

"Chocolat! Steer it so that starboard ain't facin' east." The hunter fell back onto the bed and shut his eyes.

"No way, bro! You've been sitting on your butt for too long and we seriously need to make some money."

"Ughhh after that crap with Baion don't ya think I deserve some rest?"

"It's been a month, Red! We need to put food on the table, y'know?"

Red laid there, eyes closed, but he knew at this point he wasn't getting back to sleep. "Fiiine!" Dramatically, the caninu shot up from the bed, flinging the comforter onto the floor. He took three long strides towards the door leading to the bridge, nonchalantly grabbing a bone from a jar sitting on a shelf nearby and slipping it into his mouth. He yanked open the hatch and stepped into the control room.

"We're heading to Airedale, since we never seem to have trouble finding work th-" Chocolat had turned around at this point and gave her brother a deadpan expression. "Not getting dressed, are we?"

Red looked down at his outfit, which consisted of only boxers, and shrugged. "We're not there yet, are we? Besides it's not like Elh's around anymore. I can walk around as uncouth as I please."

"Pretty sure she'd love to see, to be honest."

"Eh? What was that?"

"Oh nothing~"

Sighing to himself, Red made his way to the bathroom for a shower. Chocolat always started acting weird whenever she would talk about Elh.

"She got a crush on her or somethin'?" Unbeknownst to most people, the caninu tended to talk to himself when he was alone. "Ah, my lil sis is growin up."

Red entered the bathroom and faced the mirror, turning his head side to side as he inspected himself. His long, reddish-brown hair was a mess from sleep and he had slight bags under his tired, blue eyes, which were underlined by a very noticeable scar running horizontally across his snout. Drool began to run down the bone in his mouth as he stared at his reflection for a solid minute before he pointed both of his hands towards the mirror, winking and making a clicking sound with his mouth.

"Still the best lookin' hunter in all of Shepherd!"

Fortunately the Asmodeus still had plenty of hot water for Red to use. Finishing up his shower, he donned his usual outfit and returned to the bridge. Airedale was now a growing dot on the horizon. He sighed.

"That's where it all started."

"Didn't it start on the Hindenburg?"

"Well, yeah, if you wanna get technical, but I can't exactly wax nostalgic about a ship lyin' deep beneath the cloud sea, can I?"

"Don't be an ass."

Red laughed softly. To an outsider the two siblings' petty bickering may have seemed unfriendly, but they both knew that it just meant that they were on good terms.

Chocolat turned the Asmodeus to port once they arrived at the floating island, docking it in the place she usually did, since it was closest to the quest broker. Red emerged riding his mech, the Dahak. Despite it being smaller than most mechs he'd encountered, the modifications he'd applied to it made it more than a match for anything he would have to face. He quickly set off.

Having come here countless times before, Red took no time to take in the sights. He certainly did the first time he visited Airedale, though. The entire island was covered in greenery, accented by the sparkling white of the structures that dotted it. Entering Main Street, one could hear all of the hustle and bustle of the city above and even catch glimpses of the automobiles and people on the bridge. It was all white noise to Red at this point, however, so he simply made a beeline to the quest broker.

"Good morning, Red! Long time no see!" Flo, always bubbly and cheerful, greeted the hunter before he was even within five yards of her.

"Hey, what's up, Flo? Good to see you again, heh!"

"You ready to get back to work?"

"You bet!" Red turned to face the job postings, only to see nothing there. "Ehhh?"

Flo giggled. "Weird, right? Usually there's at least something up there. It's just been slow lately."

"Ugggh you could have told me right as you saw me, y'know!"

"This way was more entertaining."

As Red sit there pouting, Flo seemed to have an epiphany. "Wait just a moment!" She withdrew into the back of the stand, digging through some papers. After a minute she reemerged holding a small crumpled note. "Someone posted this about two weeks ago, asking specifically for you. I had to take it down since you weren't showing up. I'm sure it's expired by now, but you can look at it."

"Oh, sure." Red took the yellowed parchment into his hands. There were scribbles all over it. It took him some time to figure out that it was writing, and even more time to decipher it.

ATTENTION HUNTER RED SAVARIN

I am interested in hiring you as my personal body guard for one day.

I'll be waiting for you outside of Alman's warehouse.

Your payment will be 200 rings.

-Jacan Lau

"I don't recognize this name. Flo, what did the guy look like?"

"Hmm. He was a caninu wearing a green cap, and he had dark, deep set eyes. I'm sorry, I don't remember much else, it was too long ago."

"That's alright. He probably won't even be in the spot anymore. 'Personal body guard for one day' isn't really something that stays permanent." Red looked down at the note, and then back at the Asmodeus far in the distance. Chocolat would be mad at him if he didn't at least follow it up. Even if it was only 200 rings...

"Screw it. I'm gonna go check it out. Seeya, Flo!" The Dahak ran out of the alley, towards its new destination.

Alman's warehouse wasn't far. Red had done some work for him in the past, in fact. Alman seemed to have an...attachment to Red, which he found to be quite awkward.

"I swear if he changed his name on that job just so I would check out of curiosity I'm gonna throw a crate at him."

When he got there, he found the area empty. Not surprising. Red walked around for a bit in the Dahak before he started to head back, crumpling the job request in his hands. He stopped, however, when he heard the warehouse door to the right of him open.

"B-boss?"

A familiar voice. Medium in pitch and a bit raspy, but in a youthful way. Red turned to face the source.

"Oh, it's you. What's up?" It was Rookie. Or, that's what Red called him, at least, since he had never actually caught his name. "Hope you're workin' hard."

"S-sure am, Boss, heh!" The caninu sheepishly adjusted the cap on his head. He was probably a year or two older than Red, but he had looked up to him ever since he was hired by Alman to teach him to do his job properly. By beating the snot out of him, ultimately. The Rookie had been calling Red "Boss" ever since.

"So where've you been?"

"Oh, y'know, just relaxin' for a bit. Thought I deserved a vacation." It seemed that news of Red's heroics hadn't really reached too many people in Shepherd, and he was absolutely fine with them remaining ignorant. As far as he was concerned, he was still just a regular bounty hunter. "I'm back now, but there's no work around here, it seems."

"Oh, yeah, that's a real shame. Uh, but hey! I'm sure Alman wouldn't mind you doing some work here, right?" The Rookie was smiling wide now, his tail swishing back and forth aimlessly. Red had never seen him this happy before.

"Eh, I'd rather not. I don't want him to think I'm 'interested' in anything he has to offer, if you catch my drift." The hunter moved his chewing bone across his molars, making a grinding sound.

"Uh, I'm not sure I do, Boss."

"Nevermind." Red uncrumpled the note in his hands and gave it to the boy. "Yo, you have any idea what this is about? Does someone named Jacan hang out around here or somethin'?"

Once Rookie read what was on the paper his eyes widened and he started chewing his lip. "Uh, yeah, you could say that." He held the paper out for Red to take, dropping it into the Dahak when a hand didn't reach to grab it. "I guess I never properly introduced myself. I'm Jacan. That's my job that I wrote up."

"Ah, well, you seem to be doin' pretty good this long without a bodyguard." Red was a bit surprised, but he had the natural ability to adjust to changing situations. "The job still on?"

"Uh, yeah, actually. Y'see, I need you to escort me to a cemetery on the other side of Airedale. I make a trip there every year for my grandpa's birthday but there's been, uh, a lot of sky pirates lurking on that side of the island lately, so uh, I need someone to watch my back. It's a bit past the date now, but I still need to make that trip." Jacan nervously wrung his hands together as he described the details.

"Oh crap! Sky pirates got beef with you? How'd you get into this?" Red knew that Jacan was a bit of an obnoxious individual, but he couldn't imagine him doing something to warrant trouble from those bad apples.

"Oh, nothing like that! They just, uh, they're always after Alman's cargo, and those times he hired you to take care of them must have, uh, made them hate him specifically. And they know I work for him, so...yeah."

Red sat back in his mech and smirked. "So, you're sayin' that I'm basically indirectly responsible for your little predicament here, is that it?"

Jacan became instantly flustered. "N-no! No no no I'm not blaming you at all, Boss! You did a great job showing those pirates who was, well, boss."

"Calm down kid I'm just messin' with ya." He laughed as he reached down and gave the other caninu's head a small noogie. "I'll take your job. Just point me in the right direction and I'll take you there, yeah? When are you done with work?"

Jacan gave a big toothy grin. "I actually just finished up. We can go whenever."

"Then we're goin' right now, Jac!" Red grasped Jacan by the hand and pulled him up. "Alley oop!" Jacan landed with a small thud onto the floor of the Dahak, which wasn't made to accommodate two people, but it seemed to work with him sitting on the ground between the pilot's legs. The cockpit was shallow enough for him to stick his head out as well.

The new passenger seemed a bit shocked over how fast that happened. He turned to look up at Red. "T-thanks for this, Boss. It really means a lot."

"Bah, you're givin' me money for this, ain't ya? Don't think too much about it."

"O-oh, okay then..."

"Also, just call me Red for the rest of the day, please? I don't want you callin' me 'Boss' the whole time."

"Yeah, Red, you got it."

And with that, the two caninu set off.

Besides Jacan pointing Red in the right direction, the first several minutes of their trip were spent in silence, which was perfectly alright with Red. If he could just cart this kid across the island, beat up a pirate or two, and get 200 rings out of it, he was dandy. It was a nice and relaxing job to come back to. The rookie not talking just made things easier. It wasn't like Red disliked the guy, but he was also aware of his strange borderline idolization of him. The fact that Jacan wasn't kissing his feet was even surprising. That did bring up a detail the bounty hunter had missed before though.

"Say..." The caninu on the floor looked up as Red spoke. He had to keep his voice fairly loud so it didn't get drowned out by the Dahak's footsteps. "Why'd you ask specifically for me on this job? You could have had this done when you needed it if you'd posted it for everyone, y'know!"

Jacan turned away as he responded. "Uh, y-yeah, well I..." he wiped his nose "I knew you'd get the job done."

"Well, this ain't exactly the hardest thing to do, y'know. I know a lot of hunters who could do this, no sweat."

"S-sure. But you're reliable and I know you already and just..." Jacan sighed. "I'm just comfortable with you..."

"Ah. Well, what were you gonna do if I never showed up again?" The Dahak stopped at a crosswalk adjacent to a small outdoor restaurant as they waited for some vehicles to pass.

"I guess I would have found someone else, but you're here now, so, I don't have to think about that." Jacan sat up straighter and peered his head out and pointed across the street. "Let's stop off there and get some lunch, Boss!"

"Red."

"Red, sorry."

"I don't exactly have any money on me. It's kinda why I went lookin' into this long shot of a job in the first place." Red brought his empty wallet out and shook it around for emphasis.

"Oh no no no don't worry about that! I'll treat you! I'm making good money at the warehouse, so it's no big deal!"

Red was about to object when he felt his stomach rumble. He hadn't eaten all day. "Sure, okay. Let's get lunch." Jacan chuckled sheepishly in response.

They chose a table near the border of the sidewalk so that they could keep an eye on the Dahak. The tables had large, yellow umbrellas over them, casting a warm shade over the guests. A felineko waitress soon hovered over to the two boys, producing a pencil and a small notebook.

"What can I get you two gentleman today?" she asked in a bubbly tone that almost seemed genuine.

"I'll have two drum sticks and some pop!" Red announced, leaning back while rolling the bone in his mouth around with his teeth. Jacan stared at him and snickered.

"Looks like there's no qualms about me paying for it now!" the factory worker scratched at his nose, trying to hold back a grin.

"Eh? You already said it was okay! Just takin' advantage of a great deal! Besides, I didn't get that much!"

"The drumsticks are pretty steep price-wise, actually."

"Pahh!" Red waved his hand in a non-committal gesture. "Fine make it just one drumstick then. You're payin' me for this job anyway."

"No no, you can get the second one! I was just kidding!"

Red flattened his eyebrows and slowly turned towards the waitress, who seemed entertained by the exchange. "Just one drumstick, please."

"Certainly!" She jotted it down in her notebook. "And for you?"

"Uh, just some chicken soup and water, please."

"Alrighty then! I'll bring it out when it's done, fellas!" The felineko glided back towards the building, almost as if she were on wheels.

"Wow rook, you've really come a long way, eh?"

"Huh?"

"From the snot-nosed brat that wouldn't do his damned job to a polite upstandin' member o' society sayin' 'please' and 'thank you'." The hunter smiled wide.

"I-I didn't even say 'thank you' yet!"

"You did earlier to me when I took your job!"

"Oh, well, you got a point there." Jacan looked down at the table thoughtfully. "Guess it's all thanks to you then."

"Yeah." Red could never hope to understand how that fight the two of them had could have such a positive effect on him, but he figured it was best not to question it. Red looked off into the distance, making sure no pirates were around while he absentmindedly took the bone out of his mouth and drummed both ends of it on the table rapidly, causing the other caninu to snicker.

"What's so funny?" Red half turned to Jacan, eyes half lidded.

"Oh, uh, just what you're doing with the bone. It's cu-" Jacan stopped his sentence with an unnatural-sounding hiccup before turning in the direction that Red had been looking before, tapping a finger on the table.

"You okay there?" Red asked, deadpan as he returned the bone to his mouth.

"Sure. Just thought I saw a pirate is all..." Jacan emphasized this by turning around his chair 360 degrees before finally facing Red again. "Nope, none around, heheh!"

"I coulda told ya that." the hunter responded with a sigh. He guessed that it was just the nerves getting to the kid, but it would be nice if he could relax. It'd make the rest of the job easier, that's for sure.

The two sat in general silence as they waited for their food to arrive, broken periodically by the offhand remark or observation. Once the waitress brought out their meals they dug in right away.

"Couldja shlurp ahny louder?" Red managed out between bites.

Jacan, who had went straight to drinking his soup straight from the bowl, slowly lowered it to the table. "Could you not talk with your mouth all full like that?" The grin on his face betrayed any annoyance he intended to show.

"I reckon I could." He took another big bite. "But it'sh jusht a habit I've picked up cush it annoysh my shishter." The hunter washed down that sentence with a drink from his soda followed by a small burp.

"Oh, you have a sister?"

"Yep. We both grew up together in an orphanage, and we've been stickin' together ever since."

Jacan sank a cracker with his spoon. "What happened to your parents?"

"Ah, I don't really know. Chocolat doesn't know anything about her parents either." Red didn't plan on dropping the fact that he was a human/caninu hybrid created in a lab and therefore didn't have any parents. He just wanted to get through the rest of his life as a caninu. He had killed people in his human form. He had tried to kill Elh. He just wanted to forget it.

The dock worker wore a sympathetic look on his face, which didn't suit him, really. "So, you and your sister don't have the same parents?"

"Nah."

"So you're not really siblings then, yeah?" the droopy-eyed caninu chewed on his spoon.

Red dropped his food onto the plate, slammed his hand on the table, and got face to face with the other caninu. "And what would you know 'bout that! Who're you to tell me who is and isn't my damned family!" Jacan slouched down in his chair and became wide-eyed, showing fear and strangely enough, slight excitement.

"Ah, n-no I didn't mean, uh, I just meant I, er...s-sorry Boss I'm really sorry." Red backed off, slouching in his chair and scowling. "It's just...I don't have any family like that so I didn't really understand. I'm really sorry Boss." The kid looked like he was about to cry.

"Calm down Jac. I got a bit too heated. Everything's cool now though. I'm sorry about that." The hunter dropped the bone in his mouth on the plate and replaced it with the bone from the drumstick. "How about you tell me about your family?"

"O-okay." The boy scratched the back of his neck. "Well, uh, I still live with my parents, and I don't have any siblings. I guess that's why I was curious about your sister." He started eating again. "And of course, we're heading to my grandfather's grave. My dad's not around a lot, so he was more of a father to me than my real dad." Jacan looked off into the distance. "Heh, I think I understand the relationship you have with your sister a lot better now!"

Red stood up and stretched his arms out. "Well good. I'm glad. Now if you excuse me I'm gonna be waitin' in the Dahak while you pay for this." The caninu sauntered over to the robot and climbed aboard, where he started fiddling around with various controls, with no apparent effect. After a few minutes of soup-slurping Jacan got the bill and shelled out the necessary rings before climbing aboard with Red again and setting off.

The two caninu kept a steady pace through the city, the passenger seeming to still enjoy the novelty of riding along in a robot as he stuck his head up and let the wind blow against his fur. Red had not seen any sign of sky pirates all day, and it was setting him on edge.

"Hey, you think maybe the sky pirates aren't on the prowl anymore because so much time has passed? I haven't as much as even smelled one all day." The sun had started to dip low in the sky by that point, but Red was still on alert, while Jacan was leaning back against Red's legs, relaxed.

"Huh. Yeah, I guess they must've cleared out."

"So all in all, you probably didn't need to hire me, huh?"

"W-well I wouldn't go that far. Besides, you need the money anyway and I'm-" Jacan stiffened against the hunter before exhaling and starting again. "Hey, have you ever done bodyguard work before as a hunter?"

"Hmmm." The hunter scratched under his chin with one hand while continuing to pilot with the other. "Uh, yeah! Actually, I took a body guard job in Pharaoh for some pop singer. Boy was that a pain! You're much easier to, er, guard."

"Well, thanks! Do you remember the singer's name, by any chance?" Red's passenger had turned around and looked up at him hopefully as he spoke.

"Well, uh, I think her name was...C-Coco...Cocoon..."

"COCONA!?" Jacan shot up to his feet, causing Red to screech to a halt in the Dahak, throwing their bodies together, heads bonking.

"OW jeez what're you doin'?" Red held his nose, pulling his hand away occasionally to check for blood.

"Sorry, sorry! I just really love Cocona's music! Did you get her autograph? Can I see it?" Jacan was wiggling like an excited puppy.

"No! I didn't even know who she was..."

"Oh." The previously enamored dog slowly sat down, allowing Red to continue the journey. "Well, you have connections to her now, yeah?"

"I guess so. We left on a friendly note."

"Do you think, maybe, you'd ever see her again?"

A simple shrug was all Red offered. "Look, if I ever come across her again, I'll try to get you an autograph, okay?"

"Oh, uh, thanks!" The cockpit of the robot calmed down once more.

They reached their destination right as the sun had touched the horizon line. The cemetery was modestly-sized, as one would expect on a floating island with limited land available. The two caninu dismounted and walked down the center path. The headstone they were looking for didn't stand out much, but a few remnants of offerings flanked the ground nearby. Jacan stood in front of it and stared, taking a bouquet of flowers out of his bag without breaking his gaze.

"Hey gramps." His voice was quiet, but unwavering. "It's been a while, huh?" He bent down and placed the plants onto the small edge of the grave stone. "I miss you..." He began wiping at his eyes. "I still...miss you..."

Red stood off to the side, unsure of what to do. He was never the best in situations like these. He much preferred life-or-death scenarios. But he did what he felt he should. He walked up next to Jacan, putting an arm around his back, hand resting on his shoulder. The other caninu glanced over in surprise, only to slowly return to looking at the burial spot of his dead relative. They stood there until the sun retreated behind the cloud sea.

The dock worker leaned into Red for a moment before pulling away. "Thank you Red...for everything." He wiped his eyes one last time before clearing his throat. "You can drop me off at my house now. I'll show you the way."

The journey was spent in silence as the streetlights lit up in front of them. Jacan stopped them as they approached a slender, common house. He stood up and turned to face Red.

"This is my stop."

"Yup. That was kinda fun, eh?"

"Yeah...it was." Jacan smiled warmly, his sleepy eyes blinking rapidly. He slowly leaned in, wrapping his arms tightly around Red, who eventually returned the embrace tentatively.

"Ah, you're welcome then, hah!"

Jacan didn't respond, and instead turned his head to kiss Red on the cheek, and then again on his mouth. Red just stared as the other dog withdrew, sputtering panicked apologies as he thrust a bag of rings into the hunter's hand. He jumped off the Dahak and entered his home, slamming the door shut.

Red stayed where he was for a good minute, playing with the bag of money in his hand and glancing toward the door. This was definitely one of the strangest jobs he'd ever taken. Finally, he made his way back to the Asmodeus.

"Gee, you took a long time!" Chocolat was never one for pleasant greetings when it came to her brother. "How much did you get?"

Red threw the small satchel onto the table. "200, but I also got a free meal out of it."

"200? That's it? What sort of job did you take?"

"Well, it was the only one available, posted by that rookie kid from a while ago. He wanted me to be his body guard for the day."

Chocolat leaned forward in her chair. "Oh really? You see any action?"

"Nope!" Red began taking off his gloves and boots. "I just sorta took him across the island to visit his dead grandpa. We got lunch on the way and talked. I dropped him off at his house then." Red's brow furrowed in thought. "Then he gave me a hug and kissed me and ran inside. It was weird..."

"Oh, wow Red, you really are clueless."

"Huh?"

"That was a date!"

"EEHHHHHHHH!?"